Seminole Tribe offers city environmentally-conscious buildings

January 19, 2011|Stephen Feller sfeller@tribune.com

The Seminole Tribe officially introduced the Coconut Creek City Commission to its expansion plans for the casino complex in the city, and the great lengths they have gone to in giving every part of it an artistic, comfortable look.

Commissioners in Coconut Creek received a broad overview of expansion plans for the Seminole Tribe's casino complex, with the focus on a new 2,500-space parking garage, retail component and redesign of the surrounding area that will be the subject of several votes at the next two Commission meetings.

At the meetings scheduled for Jan. 13 and 27, commissioners will vote on five decisions to abandon certain easements, rezone land in the area around the casino and on the actual site plan for the new construction itself.

Both city planners and members of the Tribe's construction and design team requested the workshop so that commissioners could have an overview of the long-term plans that have been put in progress, said Sheila Rose, director of sustainable development for the city.

With the exception of a portion of the property already held and controlled by the Seminole Trust, and thus not subject to approval by the city, plans for most of the area were shown to commissioners because "it requires a review deeper than what is possible from the [Commission]."

The area, bordered by State Road 7 on the west side, 54th Avenue on the east side and Sample road to the south, will see a complete makeover, said James Kahn, one of the Tribe's planners in his overview to the Commission.

The five-phase expansion includes about $10 million in road improvements around the garage, most of which is included in phases two and three, which sets up the eventual construction of a Hard Rock hotel and spa, and other facilities, Kahn said.

The city has spent the last several years rezoning and planning for the Main Street area, which includes all of the land between State Road 7, Sample Road, Lyons Road and Wiles Road, and carries requirements both for "green" construction and design elements.

Fort Lauderdale-based landscape architect Robert Dugan showed commissioners several charts displaying everything from low and high intensity green roofs, low-energy lighting, solar paneling and various inside and outside gardens to expected controls on waste from construction and eventual use of the facilities.

"There are a lot of opportunities included in the Main Street design document," Dugan said. "It's really pushed the way we think about the spaces, the structures and what your experience is in the exterior space before you get into the casino."

According to Robert Dollar, of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based Friedmutter Group, the garage and larger facility will include vertical garden walls to improve the look of the garage, glass stair towers and a rainwater collection system that will clean the water as part of an artistically designed display before it is deposited into retention ponds onsite.

Commissioners were not shown renderings of the planned retail space, Rose said, because the intention is for the look to be varied and carry the air of individuality of stores at The Promenade shopping center.

Steve Bonner, general manager of the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, said the aim of everything they are constructing, including the way they clean smoke from the air inside the casino itself, is aimed at surpassing environmental requirements and meeting the city's goals for the area.

"We think this gives an opportunity for the city of Coconut Creek to really go to the next level," Bonner said. "We've thought a lot about how this fits in…and we think we've put together something that you and we can be proud of."